In this WWF World Tour 1990 review, it’s a look at a classic WWF Home Video release that features Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart vs. Dino Bravo, and more.
Let’s jump in!
IN THE STUDIO: Mooney pushes the world theme for this particular tape. The first stop on the tour is the WWF profile on ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka.
VIDEO: Snuka says his mind is clean, but something else might not be clean given how jacked this dude is at this point in his career.
Boris Zhukov (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka
This match is taped at the Nassau Coliseum, and Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred Hayes are on commentary. Zhukov with a PEARL HARBOR JOB to start the match, which sends Snuka to the outside. They do the criss cross, and I’m still amazed how that was ever a thing in professional wrestling. Zhukov sends Snuka down and gets a two count. Zhukov with another near fall, and he locks in the sleeper. Snuka fights out with some chops, but Zhukov goes back on offense with a hit to the face.
Zhukov with an aggressive sleeper as he applies some pressure, but Snuka is out again after some right hands. Zhukov with a shoulder block to knock Snuka to the mat, but Snuka gets up with a leap frog and chop before delivering a bodyslam. Snuka dropkicks Hart to send him to the floor, and then Snuka goes up top and hits the splash for the win.
- Blake’s Take: Not a lot to this one. The crowd was into Snuka, but this was slow and methodical. *1/2
Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka
Schiavone is joined by Hillbilly Jim for this match at Madison Square Garden. Snuka doesn’t even take his jacket off before he sends Honky to his back. Big headbutt to Honky, and then Snuka hits the atomic drop. Snuka off the top with a chop, but Honky reverses the momentum. Hart grabs Snuka’s legs, and Snuka gives chase. Honky tries to sneak up, but Snuka has him scouted. Hart hits a cheap shot to Snuka’s midsection while Honky distracts the referee. Snuka goes for a splash, but Honky gets the knees up. Honky goes to the chinlock, and then he works over Snuka some more before Hart chokes Snuka on the ropes.
Honky knocks Snuka to the outside, and then he delivers multiple forearms to the chest on the apron before tossing his head off the ring post. Honky suplexes Snuka back into the ring, and he hits a piledriver. Honky calls for the finish, but Snuka counters and the crowd is going wild. Hart jumps on the apron to try to slow down the momentum, but Snuka throws Honky into Hart to knock him to the outside. Snuka heads up top, and he hits the diving headbutt for the victory.
- Blake’s Take: This was….slow. It’s the classic babyface vs. heel formula from this era, and I’d be lying if I said the crowd didn’t lose their minds at Snuka’s comeback. However, it was a lot of work to get there. *1/2
IN THE STUDIO: Carl Murphy picks Bret Hart vs. Dino Bravo as his fan-requested match. The fan-requested match on the previous Coliseum Home Video tape we looked at also requested a Dino Bravo match.
Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Bret Hart
This match took place in London. Schiavone and Alfred are the commentary team. Bravo boasts his strength in the early going, but Bret gets the crowd on their feet with a flurry of offense to send Bravo to the outside. Bravo yells at the fans, and he turns around into a hard right from Bret. Bravo wants to get the hell out and starts walking to the back, but Hart convinces him to return. Bret goes the technical route and works on Bravo’s arm for a bit. Bravo finally goes on the attack with some knees to Bret’s back, and we’ll probably get some world-class selling from it.
Bravo delivers some vicious forearms to Bret, and then sends him flying to the outside to the steel barricade. There’s no mat out there. It’s just a hard floor. Yikes. Bravo hits a clothesline to Bret for two, and he goes to the chinlock. They exchange pin attempts, and Bret’s counter nearly blows the roof off the London Arena. Bravo with the Irish whip into the corner, but he only gets a two after Bret puts his foot on the rope. Bravo locks in the bearhug, and he goes for a clothesline in the corner but Bret gets the boot to the face. Bret goes up top for a flying elbow, but Bravo moves out of the way. Great sequence there.
Bravo heads up top – in a rare move for him – and tries for a flying chop, but Bret knocks him in the midsection. Bret with a back body drop to Bravo, and he hits him with a leg drop for a two count. Bret then uses a small package for another two. Bret with a backbreaker, but Bravo kicks out again. Bret flies over the top for a cross body onto Bravo on the outside. Bret jumps and rolls up Bravo, but Bravo reverses with a handful of tights and rolls up Bret for the win.
- Blake’s Take: Easily the best Dino Bravo match I’ve ever seen. Lots of people can probably say the same in a match with Bret. ***1/2 (Recommended)
VIDEO: Hulk Hogan is in Brussels for the No Holds Barred premiere. Alfred narrates the events of Hogan’s trip, including autographs for the fans. Alfred is in Paris, and he gives us a history lesson of the city. I mean, the name of the tape is World Tour.
MANAGER PROFILE: Jimmy Hart is the choice. He’s holding Honky’s gold record, and he teases a match with Honky and Greg Valentine vs. The Bushwhackers. I am not amused. Hart also pushes Earthquake’s goal of destroying Hogan.
The Fabulous Rougeaus (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. The Rockers
This is a pleasant surprise since I thought we were getting Honky/Valentine vs. The Bushwhackers! Gorilla Monsoon and Alfred are on commentary in this EXCLUSIVE Coliseum Home Video match in Paris. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty run into the ring and send Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau reeling while their music is still playing. It’s all Rockers from the jump, as Jacques scurries to the corner to give Raymond a hug. Meanwhile, Earl Hebner has a cast on his arm, and Gorilla jokes that he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
It’s all about working the crowd here, with Michaels and Jannetty taking turns going to work on Raymond. But it’s Jacques who turns the tide by grabbing Michaels’ hair when he tries to run the ropes. The Rougeaus exchange tags and cut the ring in half for a while, and then they hug again. You’ve gotta love these guys. They’re all-American boys! Michaels nearly gets to Jannetty, but Jacques and Raymond once again use a double team with Hebner occupied with a frustrated Jannetty. Gorilla and Alfred are hilarious in amusing themselves on commentary. Two real gems.
Michaels finally makes the hot tag to Jannetty, and he punches Hart for good measure. Jannetty goes for a pin, but of course Hebner is focused on something else. Hart pulls Jannetty’s leg, which allows Jacques to hit a piledriver on Jannetty. However, once again Hebner is nowhere to be found. Michaels hits Jacques with a piledriver, and Jannetty pins him for the win.
- Blake’s Take: The crowd was red hot, and they did the most basic tag team stuff to get them engaged. It’s all about the little things. A pretty fun match between two of my favorite tag teams. *** (Recommended)
‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase vs. (c) The Ultimate Warrior – WWF Title
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are on hand from the Egg Dome in Tokyo. Jesse notes that the Warrior looks “puffed up” as usual. DiBiase hits Warrior from behind to start the match, but Warrior gives him a back body drop and bodyslam. Warrior clotheslines DiBiase over the top. Vince suggests the commission in Tokyo barred Virgil from being ringside for the match. I appreciate the added detail there. DiBiase fights back with a series of punches, but we’ve got a CRISS CROSS that doesn’t exactly rival the one Warrior had with Hogan in the 1990 Royal Rumble.
DiBiase sidesteps a shoulder block attempt, and he grabs Warrior’s head before throwing him face-first into the mat. DiBiase with a clothesline, and he goes for the cover but Warrior kicks out at one. Hard chops from DiBiase in the corner, and he hits a big suplex for two. DiBiase with a textbook piledriver, but Warrior kicks out again. Some more hard chops from DiBiase, but Warrior is running wild. Warrior does his thing and hits the splash for the victory.
- Blake’s Take: These were two of my favorites from this era in the WWF, so I enjoyed it for what it was. **
Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Schiavone and Alfred are back for another match in London. Honky threatens to sing before the match, but the production truck cuts his music before playing Hacksaw’s royal theme as the king of the WWF. Hacksaw gets a “U-S-A” chant going, which is pretty impressive considering the location. Hart grabs a mic and says if the crowd doesn’t shut up, Honky won’t sing for them. They seem fine with that possibility. Hacksaw drops Honky with a clothesline. Hacksaw with a reverse atomic drop and some punches in the corner. Honky gains the advantage, and there’s Hart to pull Hacksaw on the bottom rope.
Honky locks in the headlock, but Hacksaw battles out until Honky knees him in the breadbasket. Honky distracts the referee, and that allows Hart to hammer Hacksaw again. It’s all Honky until Hacksaw moves out of the way of a spear. Hacksaw gets into the three-point stance and hits the shoulder tackle for the win. After the match, Honky grabs the megaphone, and he and Hart stomp on Hacksaw. But here comes the 2×4. HOOOOOO, TOUGH GUY!
- Blake’s Take: A great atmosphere, but another pretty basic match. And sometimes, that’s all you need. **
‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage (w/Sensational Sherri) vs. (c) Hulk Hogan (w/Elizabeth – WWF Title
We’re back in Paris with Gorilla and Alfred for this Coliseum Home Video EXCLUSIVE. A whole lot of stalling to start the match, and it’s enough to get the crowd cooking. They want action! Hogan goes after Savage, but he retreats into the aisle. Back into the ring, and Savage hits the road again. Savage throws a chair into the ring, but Hogan sends it out. Gorilla mentions the difference in size between the two men, which makes it all the more impressive they had one of the best feuds in WWF history. Savage grabs a mic and says he’s gonna beat Hogan one, two, three. Savage says he’s gonna be the new champ, and he’s gonna dedicate the victory to the most beautiful woman in the world….Sherri.
Savage goes up top, and that allows Sherri to sneak behind Hogan and hit him in the beck. The referee just stares at this development and begs for Sherri to get out. Gorilla correctly notes it should be a DQ, but Alfred says it’s a title match of the highest caliber. Hogan knocks Savage to the outside, and then threatens to punch Sherri. Instead, he Irish whips Sherri into Savage on the apron. Hogan grabs Sherri by the hair and throws her head into the apron. Well then. Alfred is speechless, but mentions he doesn’t condone that action. Hogan picks up Savage, and Sherri is back on the apron. Hogan mocks her and once again acts like he’s going to punch her. The 80s! Wait, the 90s!
Savage hits Hogan from behind, and Sherri rakes the back. At least it wasn’t directly in front of the referee’s face. Savage with the double axe handle off the top for two. Savage tries again and again, but Hogan keeps kicking out. Savage goes to the sleeper for a good bit, but Hogan eventually gets out and grabs Sherri by the hair after she grabs his leg. Savage racks his throat on the top rope, and he goes up top again for another double axe handle. Savage goes for the pin, but Hogan catapults him into the air. Hogan hulks up, and Elizabeth gets on the apron. Sherri tries to grab her, but Elizabeth knocks her off. Elizabeth slaps the taste out of Savage’s mouth, and Hogan hits the big boot and leg drop for the victory as Elizabeth holds back Sherri.
Hogan with the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER to Savage and Sherri after the match.
- Blake’s Take: You want to talk about a basic but effective formula. These two didn’t do much from a wrestling standpoint, but they had the crowd in the palm of their hand with all the extra shenanigans. Yes, that also included Hogan going one-on-one with Sherri for half the match. It worked for these fans, and that’s why they bought the tickets. **1/2
BLAKE’S TAKE ON WWF WORLD TOUR ’90
On a tape featuring Savage vs. Hogan, a Dino Bravo match was the highlight. Go figure. But it’s still the star power and atmosphere that stand out in these matches. The world tour theme gave this one a boost due to the variety of crowds.
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